Page 84 of Blue Hawaiian
But would he believe her after all the lies she’d told? Not anymore.
When she got to her door, she wished him good night and went into her room.
It was over.
Chapter 32
Though Jess hadn’t planned to wake before sunrise, she couldn’t fall back to sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, memories of the disastrous rehearsal dinner came back to haunt her. She recalled the crushing guilt she felt when Brody exposed her lies. The pain she suffered when Gabi told her she wasn’t worthy. And the gut-wrenching sensation she experienced when Connor said he couldn’t trust her. His accusations hurt worst of all.
Stop. Enough with the self-pity.
Even if Connor hadn’t forgiven her, she’d made amends with Gabi. And she’d been honest with her mom for the first time in years. It was time to stop wallowing in the past.
Besides, today was all about Gabi, and Jess wanted to support her in whatever way she could. Like arealmaid of honor.
She brewed a cup of coffee and brought it out to the balcony. Though her heart had taken a pummeling, she could still enjoy the spectacular view. The steady roar of the waves infused her with a sense of tranquility, easing the tension from her neck and shoulders.
She took out her phone and checked Instagram. The first photo on her feed was one from Gabi. She’d taken a picture of her veil, posed next to a cluster of hibiscus flowers, along with the caption,Today’s the big day!
Jess sent her a text.Happy Wedding Day! You’re up early.
She responded right away.Marc’s still in bed. But I’m too stressed to sleep. What if something goes wrong?
Instead of bristling in irritation at her sister’s constant desire for perfection, Jess’s heart went out to her. She sent another text.Call me if you need to talk.
Seconds later, her phone rang. “Hey, Gabi,” she said. “You doing okay?”
“Hang on,” Gabi whispered. “I’m going out to the balcony so I don’t wake Marc.”
Jess sipped her coffee and waited until Gabi’s voice came back on the line. “Everything good with you and Marc?”
“We made up last night. I’m…so lucky to have him.” Gabi’s voice trembled.
“Are you crying? What is it?” Jess set her mug to the side. “Do you want to come over? We could order room service and watchSay Yes to the Dress.” It wasn’t as though she had anything else on her agenda before the photo shoot at ten. Consoling Gabi would give her a sense of purpose.
“I’ll be okay. I think it’s bridal stress. Or the fear that everyone hates me because I’ve been yelling at them all week.”
Jess wished she could take those words back. “I’m sorry I said that. No one hates you. We just want you to relax and have fun.”
“Like you did with Connor?” Gabi’s voice was more teasing than accusatory.
She let out a sigh. “It was nice while it lasted.”
“You didn’t make up last night?”
“Nope. No makeup sex. But I was fine.” No need to tell Gabi she’d stayed up much too late, watchingThe Princess Diarieson the Disney Channel and bursting into tears at random moments.
“Hold on, okay?” Gabi said. “I’m getting another call.”
“At this hour?”
“I’m not sure who it is. Can I call you back?”
“Sure. I’m not going anywhere.” If Jess had to guess who was calling this early, her money would be on someone from the Chavez clan. Her cousins were probably oblivious to the time difference between Maui and California.
While she waited, she continued perusing Instagram. To her immense relief, the pictures Gabi and Victoria had posted from the rehearsal dinner were taken before Brody’s speech. She liked all the photos but refrained from leaving comments. She couldn’t exactly say,What an amazing night!when the night had turned out to be anything but amazing.
After twenty minutes, she was tempted to jump in the shower, but she didn’t want to miss Gabi’s call. She looked through her recent photos, swallowing back tears when she got to the ones from Hana. Why hadn’t she told Connor the truth then? She’d had plenty of chances, especially since he’d been honest about his painful breakup with Natasha.
